Missouri officials working to widen U.S. 36

Local officials
in northern Missouri are working to create a transportation district
that would help finish a new four-lane highway across the state, the St. Joseph News-Press reported Jan. 22.

Only 52 miles
of two-lane road still exist along the highway, U.S. 36, which crosses
the state between St. Joseph, a Missouri River town on the western
side of the state, and Hannibal, a Mississippi River town on the
eastern border with Illinois. The remaining two-lane section runs
between Macon and Hannibal.

The transportation
district is being promoted by the Highway 36/I-72 Association, which
met Jan. 21 in Chillicothe and was supported by a recent resolution
by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission.

The proposed
district would include five counties and would help fund the $150
million necessary to build the remaining interstate-grade highway,
the newspaper reported.